Vivid E9 4D Cardiovascular Ultrasound Helps Assess Heart Failure

June 10, 2009 – GE Healthcare will demonstrate its latest solution for the assessment of heart failure at the 20th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), June 7-9, in Washington, D.C. The Vivid E9 expert series system is a new class of 4D cardiovascular ultrasound that features advanced, quantitative tools for assessing treatment and therapies for heart failure management. It brings true 4D imaging and stress testing to a GE ultrasound system for the first time. Driven by a new processing engine, and eight times more powerful than conventional systems, it enables the clinician to view a full-volume 4D image for each heartbeat. GE’s proprietary Accelerated Volume Architecture (AVA) drives the engine and enables Flexi-Volume acquisition; a full volume in one, dual or multiple heart cycles, individually selectable based on the patient. Flexi-Volumes and RV Volumes help clinicians diagnose heart failure by evaluating the shape and size of the chambers. In addition, 4D color flow provides data on valve function and 4D Auto LVQ and Tissue Velocity imaging quantifies systolic and diastolic function. AFI and 4D Stress echo differentiate ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure, while tri-plane TSI and 2D strain help assess options for heart failure management. Its new M5S transducer takes the matrix array technology and marries this with single crystal technology to provide better endocardial definition, texture and crisper valves across a wider range of frequencies than traditional transducers. Though this represents GE’s fifth 4D breakthrough, it hasn’t come at the expense of the 2D imaging most clinics will rely upon while transitioning. The new D-series transducers work with the new engine to deliver enhancements in 2D, 4D and shared service image quality across the entire patient population. “The 4D is very easy to incorporate into an everyday routine,” said Marti McCollough, Director of Cardiac and Vascular Imaging, Methodist Hospital, Houston. “We grab a few 4D volumes prior to picking up the 2D transducer and then incorporate the 4D throughout the rest of the 2D study.” For a simple transition, GE includes the “Easy 4D” feature package to help improve workflow, reduce the learning curve, and make the 4D exam protocol more reproducible from patient to patient. With the One-Touch 4D feature, users touch one button and the system automatically crops away the full volume and displays the requested view. Management of large data sets 4D provides is simplified with the 4D Virtual Store, which uses image pointers to refer back to the original full volume data set, rather than saving multiple large data sets for every new crop view or measurement. "With 4D you know precisely where you are and can cut 30 to 40 percent of errors from 2D imaging on a routine basis," said Dr. Aasha Gopal, Associate Professor of Medicine, Advanced Echocardiography, St. Francis Hospital, Roslyn, NY. Vivid E9 also GE’s first exploration into true 4D stress echo and users to acquire single cycle or multi-cycle full volumes in any variation of traditional, multi-dimensional or full volume views. Vivid E9’s templates for both exercise and pharmacologic stress tests are fully customizable. The Vivid E9 is 40 percent smaller and 30 percent lighter than the Vivid 7 and has front and rear handles for easy transport. One touch accesses the electronic keyboard and touch panel and another touch adjusts the height and position. A new 17 inch all Digital LCD monitor tilts and swivels for optimum viewing, and data management choices are located with multiple USB ports, DVR recorder, and DVD drive. For more information: www.gehealthcare.com